Grilled Lobster with Chilli Butter

Fresh lobster makes a special meal out of any meal. For this dish you will need to purchase live lobsters or frozen lobster tails. When purchasing your live lobster make sure all the claws and legs are attached and they are lively.

Portions: 6 Portions

Preparation: 15 minutes (plus 1-2 hours freezing of lobster)

Cooking: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Lobsters

3 large live lobsters or 6 small ones (I prefer to use large ones as I prefer their flavour and texture)

Chilli Butter

150g butter (at room temperature so that it is slightly soft), roughly diced

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large red chilli, finely chopped (seeds removed if you like a milder flavour)

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp finely chopped coriander

Juice and zest of 1 lime

maldon salt

To Serve

Method

Lobster: If you have live lobsters place them in a cold fridge for 1-2 hours. To kill them stab them through the cross in the centre of their head (this will kill them instantly), then cut through the rest of the lobster to cut them in half. Remove the internal track and the grey sack in the head. Crack the claws with the back of your knife (this allows the claws to cook evenly).

Chilli Butter: Mix all the chilli butter ingredients together in a bowl with a fork until well combined.

To Cook: Preheat a Grill to high. Spread the chilli butter over the flesh of each lobster half and rub some into the crack claws. Cover the grill tray with foil and place the lobsters on the tray flesh side facing upwards. Place the lobsters under the grill and leave them to cook for 8-10 minutes according to their size. The flesh should be firm and opaque when cooked.

To Serve: Serve the lobsters with lemon wedges and a light salad (optional), or serve with linguine tossed with lemon zest and coriander as shown above.